Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a research note released on Wednesday. The firm issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $62.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Heartland Financial USA has a 1 year low of $32.03 and a 1 year high of $70.27. The company’s fifty day moving average is $63.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.33. The company has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.81 and a beta of 0.97.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 8.79%. The company had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total value of $29,047.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,274.40. The trade was a 28.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $392,591.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,420.28. This represents a 45.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,626,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,601,000 after buying an additional 681,412 shares during the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 260.1% during the third quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 582,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,049,000 after buying an additional 421,000 shares during the period. Slotnik Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter valued at $13,714,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter worth $10,601,000. Institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

About Heartland Financial USA

Heartland Financial USA, Inc, a bank holding company, provides commercial, small business, and consumer banking services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, demand deposit accounts, NOW accounts, savings, money market, and individual retirement; certificates of deposit; and other time deposits.